K.N.A.T

Issue No. 48

Hello everyone and welcome to issue number 48 of Ketron News and Tips (KNAT).
This issue is targeted for August, 2005.
If you have a question to ask or a tip to submit, please let me know at jay@ketronus.com. Also I love your comments so don't hesitate to let me have them.

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In this Issue:

News: Style Factory is here
News: New pricing on Ketron US web site.
News: What does it sound like
News: I found stands for the Ketron Modules
Quotes: Just for fun

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Style Factory is ready!!

Style Factory, the new fantastic software from EMC, the makers of Style Works 2000, has been ordered and is being shipped. Its arrival in the U.S. should be in a matter of days.
I had the opportunity to play with a beta version at the NAMM show in January and was very excited at the possibilities.
It will allow you to assemble musical phrases by a simple drag and drop method to create styles that are completely your own. You will also be able to import phrases from other styles and thus build your own phrase library that will be unlike anyone else's. Also under development is a module that will allow importing from software such as Band-In-A-Box.
The price is quite reasonable, much less than Style Works.
I expect to have a ball making new styles.

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Here is the thing that MANY customers have asked for before buying

For years I have struggled to describe the differences between different Ketron products. It is never enough to say, "Well the bass seems a little fuller than on the previous model." And I am constantly asked by prospective buyers, "How does the Midjay sound compared to the XD3?" Or a similar question like, "Which one sounds better?"
The only sure way to find out is to line up all the instruments and put them into one sound system with identical settings and hear them side by side. Since there is not always a dealer near you and the internet has changed the way business is done, that solution is not usually practical anymore.

Well I have tried to answer the question by demonstration and do it honestly. I found 9 very high quality MIDI files, the source of which was the XD3 and Midjay and some from the original Blue Fish Music programmed by Doru Caplescu, a brilliant MIDI sequencer.
Then I took all 9 full files and recorded them into 4 different Ketron products. The products were the Midjay, SD1, XD3 and X4.
Those recordings are now to be found on my site at: http://www.ketronus.com/downloads.html
I placed these on the page above the Midjay Demo and below the SD1 Demo.
These are large downloads because they are full length good quality MP3 files.
Now you can listen for yourself to see which instrument sounds the best to you.

A word about how it was done:
I created these files by playing the MIDI songs from the same floppy disk in each instrument. In other words, no tweaking for a particular instrument was done.
All instruments were set to 0 for internal eq purposes.
All reverb settings were at Global 8.
The instruments were all recorded into a Layla 3G and on to my computer in Adobe Audition. (Adobe Audition is the upgrade to Cool Edit Pro which was sold to Adobe.)
There was absolutely no tweaking of sound on any instrument.
All volume levels were "normalized" at 98% to give the listener the most totally accurate representation possible. It is possible to make any instrument to sound a little better by making it a little louder than the others. This was not done.

With all this care and effort you would imagine that you will now be able to hear the exact differences between instruments. Not so!
First it is not possible to have included all the instruments and variations on the units.
Second there is no individual instrument comparison as single voices.
This is just the best I could do at this time with the limitations of the internet.
I hope you enjoy the downloads and I hope you have broadband internet cause otherwise it may take a while. I do have high speed and it takes me about 24 seconds to download "Feelings" which is the largest file.
A tip for people with slower internet is to save the file to a folder on your desktop and open it from there. That will make it much easier to listen to. I use Windows Media Player as a playing source on my computer.

I hope you will all enjoy and find useful this latest effort!

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Stands for the Modules
I have found a source of heavy duty stands that are perfect for the MS40, X4 and XD3 modules. The stands have a very heavy 4 leg base with a center pole. The rack tilts into 3 different positions. The top has rubber to keep from scratching the instruments. The stand is too large for the Midjay, but is perfect for all others. I will be retailing it for $69.95 plus shipping. The shipping weight will be approximately 18 LBS. The stand weighs 13 and folds into a fairly compact unit. This stand is identical to the ones that used to be available at over $100.00 retail. You can see and buy it on the accessories page: http://www.ketronus.com/accessories.html

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Upgrades available:
There are upgrades available for most Ketron products at:
http://www.ketron.it/software/index.asp
Here you can find the Win98 USB driver, the DJ loop compiler, the XPC drivers for Win98 and both versions of the Ketron FT utility. You can also find the upgrades for the currently supported instruments.

Most of these are also available at Ketron U.S.

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News about new pricing on Ketron US

The morons have called and I have answered!

There is a segment of the buying public that stupidly believes that price is everything. So they are going to shop the lowest price. I am now prepared to offer that to these persons. Something no other store offers. A choice. Besides my regular pricing with full service I will be offering a low, low price. However, be aware that the price is the ONLY thing. If you choose this price I offer absolutely no personal support. I will not pay shipping on a warranty claim or on the initial shipment. If you need advice on how to run your machine, either read the manual or call me for paid support. The fee is $1.00 per minute and I'll take your credit card number first.
If you think that is a great deal, go for it bozo.
I will also meet or beat any written bid from any Ketron authorized Continental U.S. dealer. Proof must be submitted. Don't give me verbal quotes, since anyone can say anything.

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Visit me at www.ketronus.com. Or email me at jay@ketronus.com

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Quotes: Just for fun

“ If you believe that the world owes you anything go sit in the middle of the desert on a hot day and wait for the world to bring it to you.” -- Clerd Farnsworth

"He can compress the most words into the smallest ideas of any man I ever met." -- Abraham Lincoln

"The difference between a violin and a viola is that a viola burns longer." -- Victor Borge

“Here's something to think about: How come you never see a headline like 'Psychic Wins Lottery'?”  -- Jay Leno

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